GRAHAM — A $12 million railroad project to lay parallel tracks from east of Pomeroy Street in Graham to the intersection of N.C. 49 and U.S. 70 in Haw River is scheduled to begin in late July.

Jason Orthner, design and construction engineering manager with the N.C. Department of Transportation rail division, said on Tuesday that the project’s design and property acquisition phase has been completed. The project will go to bid in May with the bid selection process completed in June.

The project’s completion date is late 2014. Orthner said 22 acres were acquired through the DOT’s right of way process to allow for the parallel tracks, referred to as a siding, to be installed.

“We used the right of way on pivotal properties,” Orthner said. “Some of the properties were undeveloped and some were developed.”

Orthner said the project affects residential properties and commercial property. Some of the affected properties are on the Pomeroy Street side of the project, where the grade crossing will be reconfigured. The rail will be aligned in various spots, with four curves straightened.

The project is a partnership of the North Carolina Railroad, the N.C. Department of Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railroad to increase on-time performance for Amtrak passenger trains.

The siding project will allow one train to pull to the side of the main track to allow another to pass. Currently, there are sidings in McLeansville and Mebane, some 22 miles apart. It can mean a delay of about 45 minutes for one train to clear that distance before another is allowed to pass.

The curve approaching N.C. 49 is a 50-mph curve that will be more smoothly aligned as the track approaches the trestle over the Haw River. The project’s design phase included soil testing and survey work. The rail corridor is 200 feet wide — 100 feet each side of the center of the track. Orthner said federal funds would be used to lay the parallel tracks.